Prairie books
I’ve been reading along a certain theme lately — let’s call it Prairie books. Some of these I first read as a child: Anne of Green Gables series, the Little House series, but I’ve added two new ones I’d like to share with you. Kind of a “if you liked Little House, you’ll love…” review!
First, I read Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody. This, like Little House, is autobiographical about a young boy’s family move to a Colorado ranch. Ralph is the oldest boy and so he works to help earn money for the family, and helps around the ranch. He rides horses, drives farm equipment, meets wild westerners and indians. He gets to see the friction and community that goes on around him with the other farmers, all trying to scrape out a living in an area that is light on irrigation and long on hard labor. But the awesome thing about this book is the lessons Ralph learns from his experiences, particularly from his Father. It’s a book that shines with the values of another age, nearly forgotten now. Yet it doesn’t blast them at you, it simply breathes them. It makes a wonderful family read-aloud because each chapter is a mini-episode consisting of one adventure. Once you start talking, you can’t help but slip into Ralph’s authentic voice and the fun begins. Give it a try!
Ralph Moody wrote several more books, so I’ll be reading Man of the Family next.
Also, I’m reading Laddie by Gene Stratton-Porter. The main character, Little Sister, lives in a horse-and-carriage farming society as well, and has a decidedly less functional family, but still a loving one. She won me over when she described the circumstances of her birth, that “never was there a baby born who was wanted less” — because she was the twelfth child after a six-year break. She loves her brother Laddie most of all because he’s the kindest to her, and we understand from the first pages that there is a secret romance going on between Laddie and a girl from an atheistic English family. Something her family would not approve of. I’m only about half-way through, and though I’m finding it less engaging than Little Britches, I still like it and will finish. I also found a free copy for my nook so I have it electronically on hand wherever I go. 
I’ve always been more for Sci-Fi and Fantasy versus Historical Fiction, but I’m realizing that there is as much other-worldliness in other eras as there is in Middle Earth or Narnia. And the truths about humanity are still there, as well. Good fiction helps us explore the human condition from the inside. That is its great strength, and so it is with Little Britches and Laddie.
Read on!
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Tags: creative non-fiction, early modern, family books, historical fiction, pairie books, read-alouds
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books